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Does “flattering” mean tall, slim and hourglass? If you’re in the fashion industry then, yes, it does. This is why clothing ranges are showcased on tall, slim models or celebrities who have a defined waistline. An item is flattering when it moves you closer to this popular norm, what the industry calls the “ideal standard”.

The fact is that few people in the world are built like models. So what do fashion gurus and style experts say? They tell us to wear clothing and footwear that makes us look taller, slimmer and more hourglass-y despite our height and size. Even when we’re nowhere near a size 4 and six foot tall, the aim is to get as close to the ideal standard as possible – because that’s “flattering”.

The question is: should you buy into this? My definitive answer: yes and no.

No, because you decide what flattering means to you. It is fun and rewarding to develop your own sense of style. Part of that is your own sense of what is and what isn’t flattering. Sally puts it well in her great post on figure flattery priorities. There is no one meaning for the word. Flattering to some is unflattering to others. And that’s fabulous news. Life would be very boring if we all liked the same thing.

Yes, because I don’t think we should completely abandon a shared notion of what is and what isn’t flattering. I don’t believe that everybody should have completely independent aspirations. The commonality we share is also important. After all, without it there would be no trends, and no fashion. Our style should set us apart, but fashion is what brings us together. And that is equally important. It adds a lot of fun to this shared experience that is fashion.

I see this commonality in my experience with friends and clients. Most women think it’s flattering to create an outfit with a longer leg line and a defined waist because it makes them feel feminine and eliminates the dumpy-stumpy factor. Fewer like to surrender their waistline or look short legged. This does support the more popular notion of what is flattering, but it doesn’t mean that you have to follow it religiously. You can pick the aspects of the popular norm that resonate with you and work with your body.

That brings me to what “flattering” means to you. Does it mean creating an hourglass silhouette. Wearing eye-catching clothing. Creating a longer leg line. Showing skin. Wearing colours that bring out the colour of your eyes, hair and complexion. Creating a defined waistline. Elongating your neck. Covering up lumps and bumps. Enhancing your bust line. Wearing well fitting clothing. Creating a balance between the top and bottom parts your the body.

Me? I enjoy seeing many of the above definitions of figure flattery reflected in an outfit, but not necessarily all at once. I am in the camp that likes to see a proportionally longer leg line on women in general. Hence my phobia about perfect pant lengths and leg shortening clothing styles. But that doesn’t mean that you have to be tall and wear heels (I’m Team Flats, remember). There are MANY ways to create a longer leg line and I spend lots of time talking about that on YLF. But I am also a big fan of surrendered waistlines which throws out the hourglass part of the general figure flattery approach – at least some of the time.

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Angie, you read my mind. I am literally writing a blog post on this very subject as we speak! If you see it, I promise I wasn’t trying to steal your thunder!
Because of my ongoing body image concerns, flattering to me will always mean slimming. Colours that play to my skin tone and hair also enter into the equasion, but at the end of the day the best colour in the world won’t enable me to overcome the anxiety caused by a widening silhouette. Remember the cocktail dress debacle? Because of my natural hourglass shape, I’m equally in favour of looks that emphasize my waist and minimize my bust.

I like clothes that are modest (no boobage or undie flashing), colorful, show off my waist but still minimize my hips. A nice long line is, well, nice but I’m okay with being 5’4″ and don’t feel the need to make myself look taller.

For me and on me flattering means making me look as unlumpish as possible while bringing a glow to the skin. As I’m trying to articulate this, I think it might be easier to define “unflattering”. What a thought provoking subject!

It is really an interesting and thought-provoking post, Angie. Before YLF this is what I thought flattering on me. As I already have 2 out of 3 requirements ( tall and hourglass) I just needed to fake the “slim” part for my bottom part.
However since reading your blog and participating on the forum I am changing my perception of what is flattering on me or, more accurately, I am extending it. I even find waist surrendering flattering for me now – just very different and less predictable. However it works only when combined with leg lengthening for me.

Wow Angie, what an excellent, thought-provoking post! To me flattering is long and lean. I’m 5’8″ and slim so I highlight what nature has blessed me with – long legs and an hourglass frame. My fair, cool-toned skin absolutely sings in teal, turquoise, purple and chocolate so I go for those colors next to my face. I know I DO NOT look good in anything too “tough” (because I’m decidedly not) or too girly. It’s all about balance. Thank goodness for full-length mirrors. And yes, I always check my derrierie before walking out the door!

I’m with Lynn – covering lumps & bumps in colors that work for me. And i like to feel I’m wearing the clothes, not the other way around, so the compliments are about how nice I look rather than “what a cute top” (or whatever).

Wow – so much to think about in this post. I am vertically challenged so I guess my main focus is always to look as “long and lean” as possible. But I am also blessed with never having weight issues (I have stayed at 96 pounds my entire adult life) and with being evenly proportioned and I think that has made it easier for me to try clothing trends that not all of my “sisters in shortness” can. I do tend to buy colors that I think flatter me but I like to work the seasons popular shades into my outfits in some form – even if it is just a touch. I love dresses that are very tight on my torso as that is my smallest part. I have shapely legs so I do not mind wearing my hem an inch or two above the knee – especially if I have heels on. I think I try to stay current with the lastest styles but I try even harder to stay true to what looks best on me. I consider it a success when people think “I” look good as opposed to thinking my “outfit” looks good. If I feel confident I look self-assured.

For me means looking slimmer (an absolute priority for me) and taller! of course looking slimmer does not mean I have always to show my waist, recently I’m discovering that some dresses that hide my hourglass forms can be very slimming!
I don’t mind much about colors…

I think what looks best on me and most flattering is when my clothes fit me well.

I can get lost in clothes pretty quickly. A shirt that is one size too large or a pair of pants that are too full, a skirt that doesn’t fit at the waist…these things look terrible on me and make me look like I have no shape at all.

When my clothes fit me well (and I do alter a fair amount of them ) It makes me feel put together . It also sets me apart from the ordinary fit and structure of someone else who may have the same or similar garment, and it makes them look completely different when it fits the body perfectly.

I was just thinking about this today. No, I don’t hold the common views of flattering that most women hold. I don’t think PPL and a distaste for leg shortening clothing is indicative of desiring a proportionately longer leg line. It’s about making the leg line appear NORMAL. Sure short stumpy legs look bad, but IMO, so do bizarrely long legs. I know I’m going to get tomatoes pelted at me, but I think a 34″ inseam on a 5’2 woman with a 29″ inseam (barefoot) looks odd and out of proportion. I don’t think I’d wear high heels even if I could because my legs are already so long for my height.

I also hide my waistline a lot…in fact, I hide it more frequently than I show it. I like the look of a sculpted and defined waist, but honestly, I don’t have one. Sometimes I’ll try and create one, but most of the time I’m more comfortable letting it go and working with my shape rather than against it. Ironically, people assume I have a much smaller waist than I actually do when I hide it. Just goes to show that you don’t reveal makes as much as a statement of what you do.

Many different combinations can be flattering. I have no single definition. There are few things I universally dislike regardless of circumstance.

for figure flattery, i want to emphasize the waist, emphasize the upper chest and boobs, minimize the tummy and minimize the upper hips. but i don’t consciously look at clothes and ask myself if it emphasizes the waist, etc. usually, i look in the mirror, check the fit for the silhouette especially in torso length for tops, and if i like how i look, i call it a day.

the thought that instantly comes to mind is that ‘flattering’ equates to feeling really good about how I look. Sometimes that means heels and PPL and aspiring to be taller and slimmer, but sometimes I feel good that I am 5’4″ and curvy, and I’m happy to wear something fitted with flats. So I guess I don’t have one particular formula, but rather that the whole outfit makes me look – and feel – good.

Great question Angie! I think I lean toward your “yes” notion of flattering, because at the end of the day nobody wants to look heavier then they really are. That’s why I keep “flattering” in mind when deciding whether or not to wear certain trends. Most normal women can’t pull off every trend, and that’s why we need to have an honest look at ourself in the mirror and say yeah or nay. If it looks cute or makes you feel fun but breaks one of the fashion “rules”, who cares.

But without us buying into “flattering” we wouldn’t be visiting your website

Funny that you should write this post on the day I’m wearing a top that I can’t decide if it’s flattering or not. ;p Well, I decided to wear it undecided for something different. It surrenders the waistline and even poofs out a little with a tail in front and back. All of the things you mention, I find flattering. As for surrendering the waistline, the reason I find it flattering is because I know there’s a waist in there somewhere. It’s just being mysterious. To me the volume gives just as much attention to the waist as a slimmer silhouette does.

Michelle, your perspectives are especially interesting because you literally have to feel your way through your style because you cannot see. Your reasoning makes perfect sense and I can’t wait to read your post!

Maya, I actually think you do hold *mostly* common figure flattery views, judging from your outfit feedback to others on the forum, AND by what you wear :-). I like a normal leg line too – that’s proportional at least. Bizarrely long leg lines look disproportionate to me too. But a slightly longer than normal leg line also looks flattering to my eye.

Barbara and Sveta, surrendering the waistline in a good way is liberating don’t you think?

Precisely, Meredith2. That’s why I do what I do and why we have YLF.

Patience, I love that analogy! A voluminous waist does draw as much attention as as a defined one.

If you just look straight at my measurements, I’m hourglassy in proportion with the much-hyped 75% waist-to-hip ratio, but somehow the way it distributes on my body does not lend itself to super traditional belted-waist looks. A lot of times i think it’s more flattering for me (and ironically gives me a better shape overall) to accentuate the wideness of my hips and create a line at high-hip level, than to try to accentuate my high natural waist and make longer legs. I’ve been keeping a daily outfit blog for a couple of months now and if I look back at my archives I can see a) I have a very unified style, even though I don’t think I do, and b) the drapey stuff and low/wide hip line thing comes back again and again in my most favorite outfits.

Maybe I’m just crazy, though. If I’m not I have to learn to buy clothes that create that optimal line, because not all of mine do.

Interestingly enough, I have never aimed to dress like an hourglass… it’s never even crossed my mind. I suppose because I have battled my weight my entire life, my figure flattery goals fall under the umbrella goal of: Look less fat. My goal isn’t even to look thinner — I just want to make sure my outfit doesn’t make me look bigger.

Flattering to me means wearing ANYTHING that enhances or creates a positive uplifting feeling….if I feel great then I look great….that positive feeling is like a glamour spell that makes even the baggiest T-shirt and worn-in jeans look fabulous…inside out-outside in!

Taylor, I think that it’s HOW you like clothing to fit that makes them flattering to your eye

Annagybe, from what I have seen from your outfits, you like to lengthen your leg line in cropped pants with very high heels.

So take my thought process on the outfit I’m wearing today: dainty bone and black printed shirt dress in soft flowing fabric that’s baggy all over (sack-like). It’s also hits me on the knee, which looks dumpy. However, it has a curved hem which “shortens” the length. I paired it with my FLAT cream Summer boots, but I absolutely needed to add a very wide 4 inch black obi belt on my waist for this outfit to look flattering to me. The belt lengthened my legs and added a bit of necessary structure, and also happens to be the focal point of the outfit. No heels – I’m still 5ft 6.

I guess it always boils down to looking long and lean for me. I want to either surrender the waistline, or create some curves. I am a 5’8″, 56 yr old rectangle but I do have a bit of curve in the high waist. I want to lower that waistline for a proportional look.
Smoothing out lumps and bumps is also a big thing for me. I love spanx. I buy a size larger than I think I should so that I am comfortable all day.
It seems one day I got dressed and noticed love handles on my lower back where there used to be none. Now I do back crunches to try to make them go away.
Yesterday I wore the COH Avedon slick ponte knit skinny jeans. They looked fine when I left the house, but after a few hours of standing and sitting they wouldn’t come back up when I stood. This is not in my book of flattering things.

Hmm, I don’t know about that Angie. I’m sure there are plenty of people who don’t comment in order to be polite, and I have received my share of “I don’t get it. Why are you hiding your shape?” or “that would be better with heels” kind of comments. Oh well, can’t please everyone.

I guess I don’t understand why the whole long leg line thing is so flattering because that is how I’m naturally built and I find it to be a nuisance more than anything. I’d much rather donate a couple of inches from my legs and add them to my torso (lengthwise of course). If only that were how it worked.

I go by the vibe of the whole outfit to determine if it is flattering. I’m not always trying to emphasize my waist and love surrendering it but I have judge every outfit on a case by case basis. If the outfit benefits from a belt and gives off the vibe I am wanting to present on that day, I go with a belt. If a loose flowing vibe with jeggings is the order of the day, I go with that. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I really don’t have a formula or more than a rule or two for figure flattery. I go by what I see in the mirror and pictures I guess my biggest priority is to look fab while still portraying that I am very comfortable in my skin and and 100% confident about who I am and how I want others to see me for me.

In the camp of flattering means feeling good about how I look and how comfortable it is to wear. Does it mean that others may like it? Maybe, usually if I’m feeling comfortable, confident and “handsome” – that when I get the most compliments. But flattering isn’t about compliments from others, to me, it’s about feeling that I “got it right” for me.

IMO, the consensus idea of flattery is fine as far as it goes….but frankly i get bored with everybody trying to look the same as each other and the same as their ideal all the time.

glowing skin, wonderful hair, delicate wrists, a flowing walk, an eye for finding antique watch works or kimonos…..a unique way of combining textures or patterns, the ability to create unexpected silhouettes…to me clothing that brings out or accents any of these qualities or talents (and many more) in a person can be flattering to them. they are also a lot more likely to be unique and personal, thus more likely to tell you more about the individual IN the clothes than traditional ways and means of flattering.

a lot of it comes down to your personal relationship to your clothes, what you want to do with them and what you want them to say about you. very interesting!

For me flattering would be something that makes my upper part look narrower and neck longer – it makes me feel most feminine. I never put much thought into leg lengthening, not just for me – I never pay attention to it on others, and to me a defined waist is more attractive than a long leg line. That’s not to say that I am against volume – it often does make the waistline look smaller.
Wearing colors that work with my complexion also makes me feel great, but I haven’t quite worked out all the colors, so it’s hit or miss. And my love for black often gets in the way.
That’s as far as the visual aspect goes – psychologically, I like to be well covered and comfortable

Oh the complexities of style, trying to be individual whilst conforming to the norm. Mrs. Cox, stylist, psychologist, extraordinaire has me scratching my head again.

I’ve been thinking this over for the last hour and I guess I’m genetically quite lucky to have an imperfect but slim and tall figure which broadly fits with the industry ideal of what is normal. I’m happiest when my limbs look long and lean, especially my arms. I’m happy to surrender my waistline or wear leg shortening booties providing my legs and arms still look slim.

To me, an oufit is flattering if it makes me look thinner and evens out areas where I am not proportional. I am an hourglass, so surrendering the waist just makes me look fat and dumpy.

I also think wearing flattering colors (in clothes and makeup) is huge. In my opinion, the nude colored clothes and the netural lips are unflattering on most people. While the nude lip looks great on a Latina like JLo or on someone darker skinned like Kim Kardashian, I think it toally washes out most caucasion and many african american ladies. That lipsticka and the “makeup neutral” clothes will be the thing that will date 00s style.

I really enjoyed this post because I’ve been thinking about the exact same thing lately. I stumbled upon this blog because I have been desperately trying to figure out how to dress. I am in my early twenties but I gave up on clothes pretty early on because I come from a large, poor family and parents who thought style was only for people with more money than sense. After I started supporting myself I became more open to the idea of spending my own money on flattering clothes (I literally dressed in jeans and t-shirts from Wal-Mart the whole time I was under my parents’ care).

Anyway, before I write a novel, I’m going to say flattering to me is:

—Feeling like I made an effort. Even if I can’t compare to the coworker who looks like she stepped out of an Anthropologie magazine, if I know I spent some time on myself, I feel better about how I look. I know there are days where I spend 5 minutes getting dressed, and even if I get lucky and people tell me I look great that day, I don’t *feel* it because I knew I rushed that morning.

—Minimizing my butt. I am a white girl with a small, delicate upper body and my large booty looks really out of place. I still haven’t figured out a way to show it off that doesn’t just make me look fat in the rear.

—Emphasizing *something*. I think the best outfits have a main focal point.

—Looking my age. I think this goes along with your point of unifying style. Since I’m in my twenties, I want to feel at home in any group of twenty year olds I come across.

–Retaining some individuality. My particular college campus has an obsession with American Eagle, A&F/Hollister, and DownEast. I hardly buy those brands anymore because having the exact same shirt as three other girls in a class gets old.

Even if you’re not trying to look like a model, I do think we have a sense of general aesthetic proportion that makes us want to balance our halves and emphasize our thinner parts. We don’t want to look like a box, but we don’t want to look like the mushy, misshapen pear on the bottom of the fruit pallet either.

Wow, what a great question. First I thought “oh, this is easy”, but when I started thinking about it I realized how difficult this is to answer on a general level. One reason is that “flattering” is so often equated with “slimming”, both in magazines and when listening to individual women talk about their bodies and clothing, and I have to admit to be affected by this as well. I don’t think that these are equal, but it’s hard to escape the pervasive notion.

So I guess rather than trying to answer what I think “flattering” means on a general level, I’ll just list what “flattering” means to me personally. So for me, flattering clothes
– fit well
– are comfortable
– accentuate parts of my body I am happy with (e.g. waist, calves) and that de-emphasize parts of my body I am less happy with (e.g. belly bulge)
– come together in an “outfit”, meaning the individual pieces were chosen to come together to an ensemble (note that this doesn’t mean “matchy matchy” by any means, just that I have a certain overall look in my mind, a composition, rather than a random combination of individual clothes)
– have colors that complement my skin tone, eye and hair color
– reflect my personality
– are “context appropriate” (different for a client meeting vs. a nite out on town)
– feel like “me” and make me smile

So much to ponder here.
So does the across the board definition for flattering change with the generations/ era? I know I look back at pictures from the 70’s and 80’s and cringe at how unflattering so many outfits were, but we happily wore them and thought we looked great.
Is dressing in a flattering way a relatively new idea? Did the pioneer women in their long prairie dresses seek for a shape and cut that flattered their figure? Or did they just wear what was culturally correct?
Personally, what I find flattering on me are outfits that leave me looking long and lean. I hate high cut necklines because I feel that they make me look busty and chubby. I don’t mind surrendering the waistline on occasion (in fact I am currently doing so) but I don’t want to “add” any weight.

This is a very interesting post. Like just about everyone else, I prefer to minimize my less-than-optimal bits, and showcase my stronger bits. But, I also don’t like be completely beholden to “what flatters” on me. Sometimes I like something because it is interesting, or creative, or intriguing. It makes a different sort of statement about me, that is less about being perfectly in proportion or perfectly flattering, and more about my personality.

I also think colors can be very flattering. I’m noticing I get massive amounts of compliments when I wear the teal blouse that matches my eyes, so I’m going to be looking for more items in that color family.

Finally, I’m short and have nice legs so I think shorter skirts and high heels are flattering on me.

Hmm, I think for me it’s all about looking “in proportion” rather than the actual shape. I am an hourglass, but I love the 1920’s flapper look aesthetically because it’s uniformly straight. I also really love the Louis XVI era, with the large bustles and panniers – again, very different from hourglass.
When I dress, I think my main priority is to look slim and cover lumps and bumps. I also like to emphasize my waist, but this goes back to looking slim – my bust and hips are so generous that if I don’t highlight my waist, I look about 20kg heavier than I am.

Flattering to me is whatever makes me smile in the mirror. That means long legs and a naturally defined waist. I don’t like surrendering my waistline, but I also don’t cinch it in and emphasize it. No extremes for me in either direction.

It also means colors that complement my hair and skin tone and clothes that add to my overall look but not by being loud on their own.

I’m tall and hourglass so I’m usually most flattered by clothing that doesn’t distort my natural lines. I don’t go out of my way to dress slimmer, but I usually avoid things that make me look heavier. Since I’m hourglass and somewhat robust, I do like to emphasize my smaller waist. I don’t have other small parts to emphasize.

1. Symmetry. This is just something that attracts us all, and many of Angie’s style tips, such as bookending your look, fall in this category.

2. Middle of the road. Even those of us who have a very distinct style, often aim for this with our bodies. I am not sure why – but it what it is.

Age: there is the child, teenage, adult, and elderly look. Kids often try to look older and the older try to look younger.

Bust: There is a large variation, and most people with big busts try to minimize and those with small ones try to emphasize.

Height: Most really tall people feel like they stand above the crowd, and often learn to stoop a bit, and most short ones feel like they absolutely need to add height, through illusion, or heels.

Slim: Most people I know who are bone-thin want to add weight, and do excercises that will bulk them up, and the ones who feel they have too much weight try to shed the same.

The problem with the fashion industry is that we do not pick the middle of the road to showcase the ware – at least most of the time – and that is where the criticism comes from. There is no perfect body. There is no common ideal. However, somewhere in the middle of the spectrum will work fine, thank you.

How many of us truly aspire to look exactly like a model? I don’t, and while most of my friends will first say they do, on further questioning, they admit that they don’t either.

This is IMHO. Not based on any formal study. So take it with a load of salt.

Great post. I’m with you, Angie – I like leg-lengthening as I’m small (5’4), but I don’t tend to emphasise my waist. I’m slim, but I don’t have a well-defined waist and I have quite broad shoulders (wider than hips). And I do think, especially as I get older, that wearing colours that work with my skin tone and eye colour is important …

I like to emphasise my curves in my outfits rather than look thin. I do adhere to the hourglass ideal shape though but I don’t worry about making my butt, hips and thighs look smaller. Why would I want to after spending years cultivating them by playing sport and being an active person!

I don’t adhere to the looking taller ideal of figure flattery. I’m petite and I will always look tiny, regardless of wearing heels, etc.

I was tempted to say that what ever you’re comfortable in is flattering. But, I don’t honestly believe that’s true. Well, I guess it depends on your definition of comfort. I’m not talking physical comfort – I think we can all agree that oversized sweats, while physically comfortable, are not flattering and are not maybe emotionally comfortable. Which is to say you don’t feel like you look good in them.

I think an outfit is flattering if the person feels like they look good. I think you stand straighter, which pulls in your wobbly bits and makes you seem longer and leaner (giving the illusion of height in a completely different way). And no, maybe you still don’t have an hourglass figure, but I doubt anyone is judging you on it.

I think most of us know our bodies well enough to know what we should wear and what we shouldn’t. And we know what’s flattering. And if we wake up one morning and completely nail the outfit, it shows in our demeanor and everyone agrees that it’s flattering.

This all may seem like a bit of a circular argument, but its one I stand behind. You feel really good when you wear something you know is flattering and it’s flattering to wear something that makes you feel really good.

Very interesting question. To me, flattering means what makes you feel good as there is nothing better than an outfit that makes you walk tall, proud and with a smile. And what brings compliments from others as this means, they are noticing, and in a good way, by saying something positive. How these things are accomplished will vary from person to person as much as body type varies.

At first I was tempted to say the following: if I feel really good in something, it’s likely going to flatter me. I probably have enough sense and experience to instinctually recognize when something is off, but may not know how to fix it.

I also don’t mean that comfy = flattering, just a more general sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. For example, I feel comfy in pajamas, but I don’t feel good in pajamas outside my house, and they are certainly not flattering.

And before this becomes an existential essay, I better list some concrete details:

* good fit (not too small, not too big)
* show off shoulders, arms, maybe leg length
* complementary colors
* I like my bum, but don’t make an effort to show it off or minimize it. It just needs to be well dressed.
* I’m not attached to showing off the waist. I like volume, and I like tailoring.
* I don’t care about emphasizing my chest
* match my mood and/or context
* bad posture can ruin any potentially flattering outfit, so I need to stay mindful of that

P.S.
Also, an outfit may be very flattering (like a well executed modern classic outift), but it’s entirely possible I may not feel like wearing that specific style that day. So I feel frumpy and not flattered. So the inside needs to match the outside. Hmm. I better stop talking because I’ll end up going in circles forever.

I completely agree with you Angie. For me keeping the long leg line is the most important thing is I have fairly short legs. My waist is fairly mall and I like to emphasize that, but I also do not mind surrendering it form time to time, for fun. Good fit and flattering colors are important too.

i think i’d just echo what maya said.i have long lean legs and very short torso with no waist at all.so i’m all about surrendering my waist line, wearing clothes that lengthen my torso and highlight my legs.i usually try to buy tops that are sleeveless,not fitted on the waist and long.i prefer skinny jeans/leggings and usually wear flats.

That is so funny that I got to read this post today. Just yesterday my husband was leafing through a new catalog that had arrived in the mail. He looked at a particular dress and says that he could see it looking good on me. I look over the wrap-style olive color dress and say that I like it, but it would need to be shortened. It hanged down to mid-calf (on the model! It would probably be even longer on me!), and I find that I prefer my skirts to hit me at knee level. To which my husband asked me why the fixation with things hitting me at the knee. What could I say? At 5′ 5″, I’m not petite, but with the extra few lbs, I feel that anything bellow the knee makes me look even stockier. ..

I really like this post. For me, flattering means keeping things in proportion. That can include surrendering the waistline and other plays on proportion, but the overall picture has to be proportionate. I am very petite but I think my body is fairly well-proportioned, and as long as I stay true to that, I don’t feel it is necessary to try to make myself look taller.

My priorities are waist definition and de-emphasizing my (larger) upper half. Although I do sometimes surrender my waistline but I do not think it is a flattering look for me – with my larger chest and thick arms, it just makes me look like a big ball on top. I do have long legs (for my height) so I think I can get away with a little bit of leg chopping without sacrificing my proportions too much.

flattering is when I feel really good in an outfit and don’t constantly feel the need to pull and tug and readjust. Flattering is when I can throw it on and feel beatiful witout having to look in the mirror.